Combined mirror and timepiece



May-2", 1933. w. LA HODNEY COMBINED MI RROR AND TIMEPIECE Filed April 2,1931 111mm? v 7%45 1%; 7%

manner; with Patented Mayz, 1933 ,A ii a tmafmea April 2, I f Thisinvention relates to means for attachingdial instruments to panels, andparticu 'larly' to the mounting] of clocks upon rear viewmirrors forusein connectionfwith m0- torvehicles', p

"' Anlobject'of the invention is toir'nprove and simplify attachingmeans of this type.

Another object of the inventionis to provideirnprovedineans forattaching a dial in strument to a face of a panel in such a manher thatthe dial of'the 'instrument'will be visible through a transparentsection of panel; with, whichthe instrument maybe removed and replacedwhen cleaning, regulation or repairs are re uired; with which theiinstr'uinentwill be ful y inclosed and protectedfalgain'st dust and thenatural elements; with which a the removal of the instrument inaybeaccomplished in a simple and rapid which the attachment'ofthe instrumentto the panel will be dependably secure and rigidpwithwhich the means by'which the instrumentxis attached to a panel maybe made largelyfromstampings and standard tubular material with which attachment oftheinstrument tothe panel is accomplished. withouthaving objectionablemembers hooking over the 'front :face of the panel or projectingjbeyondthe'edges thereof ;and which will e relatively simple, prac ticaland inexpensive. j 7 I Various other obj ects andadvantages will beapparent from the following. description ofseveral embodiments of theinvention, and the novel features will be particularly point-- fed outhereinafter in connection'with the applid d' l i s j 1 Intheaccompanying drawing;

; lis 'a front elevationof parto'f a fmirror tolwhich a time piece hasbeen attached iii. accordance with this invention, and illustrating oneembodimentthereof; ,FigQQQis a' transverse, sectional elevation .thrbghth 's 1 I Fig; '3 is a fragmentarysectional' elevation of the detailsof Fig. 2, so as to show them on a larger scale;

--:-; Fig.;n4 is a sectlonal-elevation through a mnyrorytoiwhich atimepiece has been at+ "PATENT; j y

i WILL AM-1A nomiEY. 0F BUFFALO, NEW Yomr cement, or the'plate 10. I

, oomnrman MIRROR Ann TIMEPIEGE 1931. seiia naezmae. a

tached in accordance with; this invention and illustratinganotherembodiment thereof;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevationof a mirror to which a timepiece hasbeenattached also.

trating still another embodiment thereor; I

in accordance ,withthis invention but. illusand Fig. 6 is a sectionalelevation on a larger scale of certain details ofFig. 5, particularlythedetails of the snap connection between the rearfplatean d thecylindrical shell. 5 i

I In the enibi dimentg oflthe invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the.paneljin the 'form of a mirror 10 may be formed of afplate of t ytransparent material such as gl a'ssg This plate isprovided upon its rearf'facewith an annular groove 11,. which'has a maximum depth less thanthe thickness of the plate.

An annulanmember 12 is disposed against the .rear face of the, plate,which; is theface' that carries the. reflective coating, "and at itsinner'edge is provided with a ring-like flange, 13 which extendsilooselyinto andis cementedwithin the annular groove, so as to {be permanentlyattached thereto, The cement 14 used to fill the groove maybe ofanysuitable type which adheres to. the glass or other material of whichtheplate is formed.

" The, free end of the fiange 13 is provided with an internal,annularfsub-flange or-rib which provides'a shoulde'r within thecementandthereby a more effective anchorageof "the flange within the cement.The outer peripheral surface ofltheflange 13, may alsohave grooves orcavitiestherein' into which the cement may enter in order to increasethe anchorage on the flange; If desired, a gasket or ring 15 ofsuitableresilientmaterial'such -asfe1ema be interposed between the member I 12andth'e rearvface of 'the'plate so as" to provide for limitedexpansion-and construction "of the material of which the member isusual- 1y formedjwithout danger ofrupturingjthc cement o'rplacin'g unduestresses upon the 3 'Themember 12' is provided with a frust o conicalfiange 16 having itslargerbase at its junction with the member 1 2; andconverging.

rearwardl from the plate. Thisjflange-lti .actsaasia. ez'el ring for thedial plate of a time piece which is confined in close proximity to themember 12 in a manner to be explained presently. An annular ring-likeflange 17 extends r-earwardly away from the mirror plate 10, from theouter periphery of the member 12. A cylindrical casing or shell 18 istelescopically fitted over the flange 17 of the member 12, so as to forma removable extension thereof, and is removably attached to the flange17 in any suitable manner such as by screws 19 which. are passed throughthe shell 18 and threaded into the flange 17. The shell 18 is providedwith a removable back wall or cover plate 20, which at its periphery isprovided with a slight internal flange that snaps into an undercutexternal peripheral groove at the rear end of the shell 18.

A time piece 21 is confined within the shell 18 and against an internalshoulder 22 thereof in any suitable manner, such as by screws 23 whichengage with theshell 18 at its free end, and are threaded into asuitable part of the time piece in a manner to draw the time pieceagainst the shoulder 22. The shoulder 22 is so positioned that. when thetime piece is confined against it, the dial plate 24 of the time piecewill abut or lie in close proximity to the smaller baseof thefrusto-conieal flange 16. The shell 18 may have a suitable aperturethrough which the winding and setting stem 25 of the time piece mayextend.

Referring next to Fig. 4, the mirror plate 10 is provided with anannular groove 11, as previously explained in connection with Figs. 1 to3. A cylindrical ring 26 is disposed endwise against'the rear face ofthe plate 10 withan end section of thering extending into the annulargroove 11 and permanently anchored therein by cement 14. The end of thering 26 which is within the annular groove may be provided with aninternal rib and the external grooves, as explained in connection withFigs. 1 to 3, in order to increase the anchorage of the cement thereon.A cuplike shell 27 telescopes within the outer or free end of the ring26 and is provided with an external shoulder 28 in the portion outsideof the ring 26. A ferrule 29 isthreaded upon the outer periphery of theprojecting end of the ring 26 and is provided with an internal flange orlip 30 which engages with the shoulder 28 in a manner to draw the shell27 toward the plate 10.

An annular ring 31 may be disposed within the ring 26 and clampedbetween the rear faceof the plate 10 and the inner end of the shell 27as the shell is drawn toward the plate 10 by the ferrule 29. The ring 31is bevelled in the manner shown in Fig. 4 so as to form a bezel ring forthe dial of the time piece 32. The time piece 32 is confined against aninternal shoulder 33 in the shell 27 in any suitable manner, such as bythe screws 34 which pass through the shell 27 and are threaded into he tme pie e 3 The bottom or closed end of the shell 27 corresponds to thecover 20 of: Figs. 1 to 3 and, if desired, may be made removable, asshown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the mirror or plate 10 is provided wit-h anannular groove 11 as in Figs. 1 to 4. A cylindrical shell or ring 35 isprovided with an inwardly PlOjQCtiIig shoulder 36 adjacent one end, andthe inwardly offset end 37 of this frame 35 serves as an annular ringsection which extends into the annular groove 11. The end or ringsection 37 may be provided with the internal rib at its free end andwith the external grooves, in the same manner as the flange 13 of Figs.1 to 3 and the ring 26 of Fig. 4, and is permanently anchored within thegroove 11 by suitable cement 38 which fills the groove. A compressiblegasket ring 39, such as a felt or rubber, may be interposed between theshoulder portion 36 of the ring 35 and the rear face of the plate 10, soas to serve the same function as the ring 13 of Figs. 1 to 3. j

The outer or rear end of the ring 35 may be closed by a removable plateor member 40 which is removably snapped thereon as shown on a largerscale in Fig. 6. An annular ring 41 is disposed against the inner faceof the shoulder portion 36 of the shell 35, and is provided with abevelled face which serves as the bezel for the dial plate of a timepiece. vA cup-likeshell 42 is disposed within the ring 35, with its openend abutting against the ring 41 to confine the latter against theshoulder 86 of the ring 35 and a compressible, resilient pad 43, such asof spronge rubber or felt is disposed between the closed end of theshell 42, and the cover 40 and serves to hold the inner shell 42resiliently against the ring 41.

- A time piece 44 is removably secured in the inner shell 42 so as to beremovable through the open end thereof. For this purpose, the innershell 42 is provided with an internal shoulder 45 adjacent its open end,against which a shoulder of the time piece 44 is drawn by screws 46which pass through apertures in the closed end of the inner shell andare threaded into the time piece.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 6 it will be noted that the ring 35is provided at its rearward end with an external groove 47 which isslightly undercut at the end nearest the plate 10, and the closuremember 40, which snaps over the ring 35, is provided with a reverselyformed internal groove 48, that is, it is reversely undercut and issomewhat deeper than the groove 47, so that when the member 40 issnapped upon the ring 35, the engaging undercut parts of the grooveswill draw the member 40 firmly against the bottom of the groove 47 andform a tight joint thereon.

In each embodiment of the invention which has been herein above descried and i1lustrated, it will be noted that the dial instruw mentor timepiece is completely enclosed within a housing or case, which has beenfirmly attached to the rear faoeof the panel or mirror plate '10. Theattachingmeans is separable so that access to the time piece may beeasily obtained and the timepiece rei tails not disclosed andclaimed insaid prior filed applications. 7

It will be obvious that various changes in the details, which have beenherein described through said transparent panel, and with the andillustrated in order toexpla-in the naturev of the invention, may bemadebythose skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims. v

'I claim as my invention:

1. Means for securing a dialinstrument to a face of a panel having atransparent sec tion which comprises a groove in said face, an annularmember abutting against said face and having a flange enteringandcemented in said groove, a ring extending inwardly from said memberadjacent said face of the panel,

a casing removably attached to said member, and an instrument removablyattached to a an annular flange entering and cemented in saidgroove toanchor said member to said plate, said member also having a flangeextending rearwardly from the plate adjacent the junction of saidannular flange with said member and converging to the rear of said plateto form a frusto-conical bezel ring, said member having an annularflangeextending rearwardly thereof, an enclosure member telescoping over andsliding along said lastnamed flange and removably attached thereto andforming with said member and plate I a complete enclosure,rand said dialinstrument removably confined within said enclosure, with its dial faceagainst the small base of said frusto-conical flange.

4. Means for attaching a dial instrument to a transparent plate,comprising an annular groove in the rear face of the, plate, acylindrical ring disposed endwise against the rear face of said plateand loosely entering and cemented in said groove, a cup-like casingtelescoping within said ring and having an external shoulder, a ferruleengaging said shoulder and threaded to the projecting end of said ringfor removably confining the casing to said ring, whereby said dialinstrument is removably confined Within said casing so i as to bevisible through said plate.

WILLIAM LA HODNEY.

said casing and disposed against said ring at I I I said face of saidtransparent section so as to be visible therethrough.

2. Means for securing a dial instrument to a transparent panel whichcomprises an an-' 7 nular groove in a face of said panel and of a depthless than the thickness of said panel, an annular anchorage memberdisposed against the grooved face of said panel and having an annularflange-like ring entering and cemented in said groove, said member alsohaving a section extending away from the panel, an enclosure removablyanchored to said section, and saiddial instrument re-- movably confinedwithin said enclosure and against said member,v so as to be visibletransparent panel forming a weather proof closure for the'front of saidenclosure and member. I

3. Means for attaching a dial instrument to a transparent plate,comprising an annular groove in the rearface of said plate, and of adepth less than the thickness of saidplate, an annular anchoragemembervfitted against the rear face of said plate and having

